Did you know that 1/3 of people who diet tend regain all their weight and more?
This is because of a phenomenon called “body fat overshooting”. Essentially what happens, is that as your diet becomes more restricted and you take in less calories, your mitochondria become more efficent. The result is that you are able to generate more energy from less food. The effects are wide in range: your Basal Metabolic Rate is lowered, The amount of energy you expend during activity is reduced, and even the thermic effect of food is is decreased (http://ift.tt/1T9Zu07 and http://ift.tt/1GbPxDz). Essentially what this means is that your body is getting more energy from less food and is consuming less energy. So essentially your body is putting itself on an “energy budget”.
As you lose weight, your body secretes less and less Leptin (a hormone that tells you that you are full). What is odd about this is that the fat cells that secrete Leptin shrink and begin secrete less and less Leptin. This under secretion tends to permeate even past the point of weight stabilization (i.e. when you stop losing weight). In contrast to this the “hunger hormone” Ghrelin is over produced even into weight stabilization. So essentially once you finish your diet, your body is using your endocrine system against you in order to make you over eat. You’re hungrier, your less satisfied when you eat, and your metabolic process are down regulated. This is a recipe for disaster.
So youll gain some weight, so what? Well, a study done on lab rats shows that rapid weight regain can actually cause your body to produce more adipocytes (fat cells) on top of what you already have. So not only are you gaining weight, but you are also increasing the number of fat cells every time you regain the weight. The same study has shown that the more fat cells you have, the smaller they become. Couple that with your decreased Leptin output and your body is thinking it is still dieting even though you may be eating more than you were!
Now you’re asking me “ATPsynthase12, how much worse can it get??” Well it gets a little worse.. A study on obese women has shown that your adipocytes become more sensitive to insulin as a result of weight loss and an increase in fat storage.
To summarize, post diet your body has the potential (and intent) to regain weight, produce more fat cells, make you eat more, and store more fat. This is enough to make fit person cringe in fear.
However, all is not lost. the Reverse Diet is a concept of post fat loss eating popularized by Dr. Layne Norton, Dr. Joe Klemczewski, and Sohee Lee (along with others). Essentially it is the idea that if you gradually, slowly and precisely add in macronutrients (Carbs, Fats, and Protein) you can minimize or even eliminate the potential for weight gain. While everyone is different in their metabolic rates, the concept stands that if we gradually increase the macronutrients (Mostly carbs and fats) we can minimize the horrendous effects of weight regain that was stated above.
Take me for example. back at the beginning of January, i was finishing up a cut from ~220lbs. I finished my diet at 205 lbs and taking in less that 1650 calories (225 P/ 111 C/ 27 F). I began a reverse diet around the first week in January and began slowly increasing calories. At first i was sure i would gain weight, but then i weighed myself and in the 2-3 weeks i had done it i had dropped 4lbs down to 201 lbs. I have consistently stayed within 2lbs of that since then and have added roughly 600 calories back into my diet (over 120 carbs and 25g of fat). My weight has more or less stayed the same! While this result may not happen to everyone, it is a remarkable evidence in favor of giving it a try.
The process is simple. once you finish your diet, you make note of your current weight and begin to add in 5-25 carbs and 1-5 fat grams per week until you reach the desired point. I recommend staying on the low end until you can get a feel of how you can best assess the most you can add in. each week you weigh yourself and use your new weight to assess how much more you should add in. So for example, you finish your diet at 205. week one you add in 15 carbs and 2 fat grams. you lose a pound, so you can be more aggressive next time (i.e. add in 20 carbs and 4 fat grams.). suppose you add in a 20 carbs and 4 fat grams and gain weight. then you should not add in calories the next week in order to allow your body to adjust. you repeat this assessment process every week until you decide you have reached the maximum desired calories or you begin to gain more weight, which ever comes first.
Resources to get you started:
Layne Norton on Reverse Dieting
alot more videos and articles can be found on his website www.Biolayne.com and i recommend you check them out.
Dr. klemczewski on transitioning from a diet to a reverse diet
There are more resources, but this is enough to get you looking in the right direction on your journey to lose weight and keep it off.
Submitted February 25, 2016 at 10:26AM by ATPsynthase12
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